Breech-loading cannon.



. nu.- 713,374.l Y Patentd Now-1351902.'

c. H. GRIFFITH. v BBEECH LOAUING CANNON.

(Application mea'nec. 26,3901.)

(mi Modal.)

4 Sheefs-Sheef I.

Y A* Patented Nov. 18,1902. C. GRlFFlTH. Y BBEECH LOADING CANNON.

(Application led. Dec. 26, 1901.) l

'4 Sheets-Shee 2.

um man.)

No. 7|3,874. Patentd NDV. I8, |902. C. lfL GRES-Fini.,

BREESH' LO'DI'NG CANNON..

Y (Applicatiog filed Dec. 26, 1901.) No Model.) 4 sheets-sheet 3.

Patented YNov. I8, |902.

j C. H. GRIFFITH.

BREECI'Iv LOADING CANNON` (Application led Dec. 26, 1901.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

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UNiTED STATES ATENFT CHARLES I-I. GRIFFITH, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT,ASSIGNOR TO WIN- CHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO., OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT,A COR- PORATION.

BREECH-LOADING CANNON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 713,874, dated November18, 1902. Application-filed December 26, 1901. Serial No. 87,147. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ whom, it' Wto/y concern.:

Be it known that I, CHARLES, H. GRIFFITH, of New Haven, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Breech-Loading Cannon; and I do hereby declare thefollowing, When taken in connection with the accompanying drawings andthe characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear,

lo and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitutepart of this specification, and represent, in

I Figure 1, a broken viewin side elevation of a cannon constructed inaccordance with my i5 invention; Fig. 2, a plan view thereof; Fig. 3,aview thereof in rear elevation with the sliding hammer in section; Fig.4, a broken view of the gun with its locking-block in its open position,with its hammer in its cocked zo position, and with its extractor in itsrearwardly-projecting position; Fig. 5, a broken view in side elevationshowing they breech end of the barrel of the cannon stripped of all ofits adjuncts; Fig. 6, a rear end view thereof; Fig. 7, a viewcorresponding to Fig. 5, but taken from the other side of the barrel ofthe cannon; Fig. 8, a detached view in side elevation of the extractor;Fig. 9, a plan view thereof; Fig. 10, a View thereof in rear ele- 3oVation; Fig. l1, a view of the cannon in vertical longitudinal section,showing it closed and fired; Fig. 12, a detached view in side elevationof the locking-block with its righthand arm broken away to show the slotand clearance-recess formed in its left-hand arm for the extractor; Fig.13, a detached plan View of the locking-block; Fig. 14, a broken view inside elevation of the barrel of a small arm provided with my improvedlocking- 4o block, which is shown in its closed position; Fig. 15, acorresponding view showing 'the locking-block in its open position; Fig.16, a plan View thereof with the locking-block in its closed position.

My invention relates to an improvement in breech-loading cannon andother breech-loading tiring-pieces, the object being to produce asimple, compact, durable, convenient, and effective piece constructedwith particular described, and particularly recited in the claims. IWish to explain here that although I have shown my invention as appliedto a cannon it is also applicable to other breechloading pieces, such asriiies, Shotguns, pistols, &c.

In carrying out my inven-tion as shown in Figs. 1 to 13, inclusive, ofthe drawings I employ a locking-block comprising a body 2 and twosubstantially corresponding forwardlyprojecting arms 3 and 4, which forconven- 65 ience I shall hereafter speak of as right and left hand armsof the locking-block. The said body 2 of the locking-block constitutes,in effect, the rear end of the barrel 5 of the cannon and is shapedaccordingly, being 7o round in transverse section and provided with aknob 6, while the arms 3 and 4 are formed with convex outer faces toconform to the curvature of the barrel 5. The said knob 6 constitutes anextension of the block and provides for its manual operation. The saidarms 3 and 4 are formed with Iiat inner faces which have bearing upon.the vertical inner or bottom Walls of recesses '7 and 8, formed in theopposite faces of the lbreech end of the 8o cannon.' The saidlocking-block turns upon two segmental ribs 9, formed, as shown,integral with the barrel, projecting from the said vertical inner wallsof the recesses 7 and 8 thereof, y and taking the place of a true 85pivot, which would have to be located so as to pass somewhere throughthe block, whereas the center from which the ribs are struck may besituated not only outside of the block, as from about the point a, onFig. 1, 9o but even outside any portion of the cannon to obviousadvantage. This point, however,

must be located either below or above a line passing through the centerof the gun-barrel, for the reason that when the point is so located theblock will begin to recede from and clear the breech of the firing-pieceas soon as it is started in being moved into its open position. Thus thelarger the circle from which the ribs are struck the greater the extentof their bearing-surfaces, and hence the greater their ability to takethe shock of recoil, for which, however, other means may be provided, inwhich case the ribs would act merely as substitutes for pivots. Under myconstruction, also, the center on which the block turns may be locatedso as to cause it to clear and cover the breech of the cannon in theminimum of time. The said segmental ribs enter corresponding grooves 10and 11, formed in the flat inner faces of the arms 3 and 4 of thelocking-block. The forward ends of said arms 3 and 4 and the forwardends of the recesses 7 and 8 are, by preference, and, as shown, curvedin conformity with the curvature of the said ribs and grooves. Theseribs and the grooves may, if desired, be reversed in position, the ribsbeing located in the arms of the block and the grooves being formed inthe barrel. As herein shown, the ribs 9 are semicireular in form,whereby each end of each rib extends upward sufficiently to fall in theline of lthe thrust of recoil, Which is very desirable in arms usingheavy charges.

In the piece shown the block swings downward for loading the piece andextracting the spent shell. To hold the block in its elevated or closedposition, I employ a latch 12, located in a vertical slot 13, formed inthe body 2 and knob 6 of the block and turning upon a pivot 14 mountedtherein. The forward end of this latch has a depending nose 15, adaptedto enter a notch 16, formed in the extreme rear end of the upper face ofthe barrel 5. The rear end of the latch terminates in a finger-piece ortail 17, which performs the function of a safety device, as will beexplained later on. A spiral spring 1S, entered at its upper end into abore 19, formed in the lower edge of the latch and impinging upon thebottom wall of the slot 13 aforesaid, exerts a constant effort to throwthe latch into its locking position, in which it holds the locking-blockin its closed position by the entrance of its nose 15 into the notch 16.

The rear end of the nger-piece 17 of the latch coacts with afinger-button 20, grooved circumferentially to enable it to be morereadily gripped and mounted upon the rear end of a reciprocating hammer21, which in this case has the form of a pin or rod. Hammers of thissort are sometimes called sliding hammers to distinguish them frompivotal or swinging hammers. The said hammer is located in a circularchamber 22, entering the rear end of the knob 6 and extending nearly tothe vertical inner wall of the body 2 of the locking-block, the integralfiring-pin 23, located at the extreme forward end of the hammer,extending through a small opening 24, leading out of the center of theforward end of the chamber 22, as clearly shown in Fig. 11. The saidhammer is encircled by a spiral hammer or mainspring 25, the forward endof which impinges against an annular cooking shoulder or Harige 26,formed integral with the hammer and located at the forward end thereof.The rear end of the said spring impinges against the inner face of avertically-sliding retaining-plate 27, having beveled edges which takeinto undercut grooves 28, formed in the side walls of a Wide verticalslot 29, located in the rear face, so to speak,of the knob 6. The upperedge of this plate is formed with a deep notch 30, adapting it tostraddle the rear end of the hammer. A screw 3l, en teringthe rear endof the knob 6, takes into a notch 32 in the right-hand edge of the plateand holds the same in place. A groove 33, formed in the cooking-shoulder26, permits the spring 25 to be passed through it onto the hammer and tobe removed in the same way. After the hammer and its spring have beenentered into the hammer-chamber 22 the retaining-plate 27 is insertedinto its slot 29 between the rear end of the spring and the forward faceof the finger-bn tton 20. Then when the button 2O is seized and thehammer-retracted the spring will be compressed against theretaining-plate.

The flange 26, before mentioned, engages with a cooking-notch 34, formedin a trigger 35, located in a trigger-slot 36, formed in the lower faceof the knob 6 and in the body 2 of the locking-block. The said triggeris hung upon a pivot 37, mounted in the knob, and is formed with adownwardly-projecting arm, to which the lanyard is attached. The triggeris held up in position to engage with the cocking-shoulder 26 of thehammer by means of a U-shaped trigger-spring 39, entered into a recess40, formed to receive it in the body of the locking-block. When thehammer is retracted against the tension of its spring, thecooking-shoulder 26 enters the cocking-notch 34 of the trigger, which isdisengaged from the said shoulder by a sharp twitch upon the lanyard inthe usual manner. If at the time of pulling the trigger to release thehammer the latch 12 does not have its nose 15 fully entered into thelocking-notch 16, the fingerpiece 17 of the latch will stand in the wayof the finger-button 2O of the hammer and prevent the same from beingthrown forward far enough to fire the cartridge. In this way thefinger-piece of the latch coacts with the nger-button of the hammer toperform a safety function.

The extractor 41 of the piece is located in a horizontal groove 42,formed in the vertical wall of the left-hand recess 8, this groove beingoffset inwardly at its outer end, as at 43, for the reception of theinwardly-extending finger 44 of the extractor, the said finger extendinginwardly so as to intersect the bore 5 of the barrel in position toengage with the rims of the cartridge. The forward end of the extractoris furnished with an operatinglug 45, which projects outwardly andcoacts with the forward wall 46 of a transverse slot IOO IIO

.and forces the same home.

47, intersecting the groove 11 in the left-hand arm 4 of thelocking-block. To the rear of the slot 47 the inner face of the said armis cut away to produce a clearance-space 48, which, permits thelocking-block' to swing without engaging the lug 45 and moving theextractor. The upper edge of the left-hand segmental rib 9 is cut away,as at 49, also for the clearance of this lug. In assembling the piecethe' forward end of the extractor islintroduced into the groove 42 inthe barrel 5 and the locking-block swung until the slot 47 in theleft-hand arm 4is brought into registration with the lug 45 on theforward end of the extractor, which is then pushed forward to cause thesaid lug to enter the said slot, after which the block may be swung intoits closed position. Justbefore the locking-block reaches its closedposition the inner face of the body 2 of the block engages with theprojecting,r rear end of the extractor When the locking-block is swungdown into its open posi` tion, the extractor will not be disturbed, onaccount of the clearance afforded by the recess 48, until the block isnearly open, when the forward wall 46 of the slot 47 will engage withthe lug 45 and push the extractor rearward, during which` time itperforms its extracting function. The opening movement of thelocking-block is limited by means of a stop-screw 50, mounted in theright-hand side of the piece and engaginga stop-shoulder 51, forming aportion of the wall of a notch 52, formed in the lower edge of theright-hand arm 3 of the block.

In Figs. 14 and 16, inclusive, I have illusw trated with almostdiagrammatic simplicity the application of my improved locking-block toa small arm, the barrel 53 of the arm being provided with alocking-block 54, turning not upon a true pivot, but upon two 'segmentalribs 55, projecting outwardlyfrom the vertical walls of two recesses 56,formed in the opposite sides of the said barrel into segmental grooves57, formed in the flat inner faces of the arms 58 of the block 54, whichopens upwardly instead of downwardly. The said ribs 55 are struck fromabout the point b on Fig. 14, and therefore from a point entirelyoutside both the block and the barrel, whereas in case the block swungon a true pivot instead of upon ribs it would have to pass through boththe barrel and the block, which would then swing upon arcenter locatedwithin the block and the barrel. The said block 54 is provided with arearward extension 59, by which it is manually or mechanically operated.The other parts of this gun are not shown, the object of thisillustration being merely to show that the block may be applied to smallarms as well as to cannon.

In the piece shown and described the locking-block has constituted thebreech-closure; but obviously locking-blocks on the same principle mightthemselves be applied to breech-closures for locking the same in theirclosed positions.

In View of themodiflcations shown and suggested and of others that mayobviously be made I would have it understood that I do not limit myselfto the exact construction herein shown and described, but hold myself atliberty to make such alterations therein and variations therefrom asfairly fall Within the spirit and scope ot' my invention.

` Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is Y l. In abreech-loadingfiring-piece, thecombination with a locking-block, of two segmental ribs upon which thesaid block turns instead of upon a pivot, the said ribs being struckfrom a center on that side of a line passing through the center of thegun-barrel, toward which the block swings to open the gun.

2. In abreech-loading firing-piece, the combination with alocking-block, of two semicircular ribs upon which the said block turnsinstead of upon a pivot, the said ribs being struck from a center onthat side of a line passing through the center of the gun-barrel, towardwhich the block swings to open the gun, and each end of each ribextending into the line of the thrust of recoil. y

3. In a breech-loading tiring-piece, the combination with alocking-block provided with a rearwardlyprojecting operating extension,of two semicirc ular ribs upon which the block turns instead of upon apivot, the said ribs being struck from a center on that side of a linepassing through the center of the gunbarrel, toward which the blockswings to open the gun, and each end of each rib extending' into theline of the thrust of recoil.

4. In a breech-loading firing-piece, the combination with alocking-block comprising a body, two forwardly-extending arms, and arearwardly-projecting operating extension,of two segmental ribs for theblock to turn upon instead of upon a pivot, each end of each of thesaid" ribs being arranged to lie in the line of the thrust of recoil.

5. In a breech-loading tiring-piece, the combination with a barrelhaving the sides of its breech end cut away, of a locking-blockconiprising a body which closes the breech of the .said barrel, and twoforwardly-extending arms which enter the cut-away portions of thebarrel, and segmental ribs between the said arms and barrel for theblock `to turn upon, the said ribs being struck from a center lyingoutside of the block.

6. In a breech-loadingfiring-piece, the combination with the barrelthereof, of a lockingblock forming a breech-closure for the barrel andprovided with two forwardly-extending arms and a rearwardly-projectingoperating extension, segmental ribs between the arms and the barrel forthe block to turn upon instead of upon a pivot, and a sliding extractorIOO IIO

IZO

mounted in the barrel and cooperating with one of the saidforwardly-projecting arms by which it is forced rearward to perform itsextracting function as the block is swung into its open position.

7. In a cannon, the combination with the barrel thereof, of alocking-block comprising a body and two forwardly-extending arms,segmental ribs connecting the arms of the locking-block with the saidbarrel for the block to turn upon instead of a pivot, alatch mounted inthe locking-block and engaging with the barrel for holding thelocking-block in its locked position, a hammer mounted in the saidblock, and a trigger coacting with the said hammer.

8. In a cannon, the combination with the barrel thereof, of alocking-block forming a breech-closure for the said barrel, andcomprising a body and two forwardly-extending arms, segmental ribsconnecting the said arms with the barrel for the block to turn uponinstead of a pivot, a latch located in a slot in the body of the blockand formed with a rearwardly-extending finger-piece, a ham* mer mountedin the block, a triggercoacting with the hammer, and a linger-buttonlocated at the rear end of the hammer and engaging with the saidfinger-piece to prevent the hammer from reaching its firing positionexcept when the block is in its fully-closed position. 9. In a cannon,the combination with the barrel thereof, of alocking-block comprising abody and two forwardly-extending arms, segmental ribs connecting thesaid arms with the barrel for the block to turn upon instead of a pivot,and an extractor located in a groove in the barrel and provided at itsforward end with an outwardly-projecting lug which coacts with one ofthe two arms of the block, whereby the extractor is operated by theblock as the same is swung into its open and closed positions. y

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES H. GRIFFITH. \Vitnesses:

DANIEL H. VEADER, THOMAS C. JOHNSON.

